


Money Talks

by marywhale



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Faerun, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama & Romance, Fairy Tale Curses, Fairy Tale Elements - Diamonds and Toads, Hanahaki elements, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22120882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marywhale/pseuds/marywhale
Summary: “Taako,” Barry says, pushing his glasses up and pinching the bridge of his nose.  “Why did you think casting a spell from one of my four hundred year old necromancy texts was a good idea? I only have those for my dissertation. You’re not supposed to use them.”Taako scowls. “Why areyouleaving four hundred year old—” He covers his mouth as he starts coughing, trying not to choke as something pushes its way up throat, dropping from his lips into his waiting hands—a single gold coin, gleaming and new and spotted with blood.
Relationships: Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone)
Comments: 160
Kudos: 960





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a prompt from ohmightyistus over on tumblr. This was supposed to be a quick little tumblr post and ended up taking on a life of its own!

It wasn’t supposed to be a curse. Taako and Lup suffer from a chronic case of needing-to-pay-the-fucking-rent-this-month and when Taako came across the spell it seemed… simple. Easy. Like a great idea.

Barry pushes his glasses up and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Taako,” he says. “Why did you think casting a spell from one of my four hundred year old necromancy texts was a good idea? I only have those for my dissertation. You’re not supposed to _use_ them.”

Taako scowls because it’s _obvious_ why he thought this was a good plan. “Why are you leaving four hundred year old—” The lump in his throat cuts him off and Taako covers his mouth as he starts coughing, trying not to choke as it pushes its way up his esophagus and drops from his lips into his waiting hands.

A single gold coin, almost two inches in diameter, shiny, gleaming and new. Taako’s throat feels raw.

Lup leans over, plucking the coin out of Taako’s hands and watching as it crumbles to ash between her fingers. “Okay,” she says. “Taako cursed himself. No point in scolding him. He’s gonna have to refrain from talking if it he wants to _not_ puke fake gold. That’s enough of a punishment on its own. How are we gonna fix this?”

“That’s… gonna be a little tricky,” says Barry, letting his glasses drop back into place. “There’s, uh, a fix baked into the curse, but you’re not going to like it.”

Taako hunches his shoulders defensively, preparing for the worst. He thought his translation of Barry’s spellbook was spot on, but his Draconic is apparently a little more rusty than he thought. A spell that made you talk gold _sounded_ good to him, in theory. The reality… sucks. He hadn’t even _thought_ about reversing it.

Barry shoots him an apprehensive glance. “The curse can be broken by… true love’s kiss.”

“What?” Taako asks, deciding it’s worth the pain. “You’ve gotta be _kidding_ me. I don’t—” He’s cut off by another coughing fit and another coin pushing its way up.

“Told you you wouldn’t like it,” says Barry. “I wouldn’t talk too much, Taako. It’s a necromantic curse. It doesn’t just hurt—those coins are coming from you. Your magic. If you say too many words at once it’ll knock you out.”

Taako opens his mouth to speak, then closes it, crossing his arms over his chest. He glares at Barry, hard, and hope that his scowl appropriately conveys what he wants to say, which is that this is some complete and utter _bullshit_.

Lup sits next to Taako. “Okay,” she says. “Okay, are there _other_ ways to break the curse? Does non-romantic love count? I mean, Taako hasn’t had a boyfriend in like—”

Taako elbows her in the ribs. He _knows_ he hasn’t had a boyfriend in _a while_ , but that doesn’t mean Lup needs to make it a whole _thing_.

Taako plays with the coin in his hands. He can’t even use the gold for anything. As soon as someone else touches it, it crumbles. He’s coughing up counterfeit currency and this is _not_ going to help him pay off his student loans. He and Lup are up to their eyeballs in grad school debt, despite the hefty scholarships Neverwinter U offered them. They live in a shitty two bedroom on the top floor of an old brownstone that’s too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, which even after Barry moved in with them is still the best they can afford. They eat a lot of fantasy instant ramen. One day Taako’s abso- _lutely_ gonna be making bank, but for now they’re poor students and he was just trying to make their lives a little easier.

Even magic can’t solve capitalism, apparently. It fucking sucks.

Barry glances at Taako, obviously uncomfortable with the answer he’s about to give, and shrugs. “I don’t know,” he says. “I hadn’t gotten to that tome yet.”

Correction: Taako’s _life_ fucking sucks.

“How am I—” Taako cuts himself off with a hacking cough, this one starting deeper in his lungs than the last. He doubles over on the couch, hands in front of his mouth, as another coin falls from his lips.

When he looks down at it, the gold is flecked with blood.

“I’m going to read it cover to cover,” Barry says, after a heavy moment of silence passes between them. “Stick to texting and writing for now, Taako. I’m serious. It’s old, dark magic. Don’t take the curse lightly.”

Taako rubs the blood off the coin with his finger and sticks it in his pocket as he takes out his stone of farspeech. He’s not going to think about the blood and what it means. _Fine_ , he sends to the groupchat he shares with Lup and Barry. _But one of you is helping me explain this to Merle because I refuse to show him how to check his texts again._

#

Taako spends three days in hell. Everyone keeps trying to _talk_ to him. He and Lup have been TA-ing for Merle since they were senior undergrads and Merle _still_ has no sympathy for Taako’s plight.

“You’re halfway through fantasy grad school,” Merle says, after Lup explains the _situation_ Taako’s found himself in. “You should know better than to go around casting ancient spells you haven’t fully translated on yourself.”

Merle has a point. It’s still real fuckin’ hard to lead a tutorial when he _can’t talk_. Taako’s regretting never taking the time to learn sign language. He wants to complain, but he _can’t_ , because it hurts, and is maybe doing something fucked up to his magic and also his lungs, and _god_ he’s going to die young and full of regret and he won’t even be able to _tell_ people how full of regret he is about this very reasonable mistake he made.

 _One day I’m going to have my own school and everyone’s going to get unlimited sick days_ , he texts Lup and Barry. _None of this “you already used them up going to fantasy Bonnaroo” bullshit._

 _You did use your sick days going to fantasy Bonnaroo_ , Lup texts back. _Aren’t you running a tutorial right now?_

 _It’s fine,_ Taako replies. _They’re taking turns reading aloud from my lecture notes. They’re good._

Lup just sends back: “ _...”_ It’s very satisfying.

 _I told them if they have other questions they can talk to me one-on-one, relax_ , Taako says. _That’s what office hours are for._

 _Hey_ , says Barry. _Not to interrupt, but I have an idea of how to fix this. Taako, meet me by the graveyard on twelfth street around five?_

Taako stares at the message from Barry for a long moment. Lup is typing in the chat.

_Babe, are you solving necromancy with more necromancy?_

Barry owns ancient Draconic texts that make you talk gold. Taako thinks it’s a fair question. _I’m wearing nice shoes today, Barold. I can’t dig up a body_.

 _We’re not digging anyone up!_ Barry protests.

 _I’m not breaking and entering into a mausoleum either_. _No grave robbing for Taako._

 _Smart_ , Lup says. _Don’t leave any written proof of your crime._

 _We’re not doing any crime!!_ Taako can practically hear Barry’s frustration in the double exclamation marks.

 _Okay,_ he types, grinning down at his stone of farspeech. He’s not paying any attention to his class anymore, but that’s fine. _I’ll meet you by the graveyard at five, but the second a shovel comes out, I’m gone._

_I did it one time and afterwards everyone agreed it technically wasn’t grave robbing because he was undead in there! I was helping!_

Taako doesn’t know what people with normal friends do to stay entertained. Taako’s life is much more interesting.

#

Taako meets Barry at the graveyard. The sun is setting fast and there really isn’t anything much more ominous than hanging around a bunch of dead people at twilight. Sometimes Taako wonders if Barry does it on purpose.

He gets his stone of farspeech out, gesturing for Barry to do the same. _Listen_ , he types. _I was joking earlier, but for real. Are you about to hand me a shovel?_

“Do I look like I’m carrying a shovel, Taako?” Barry asks, spreading his arms. He’s wearing jeans and a red hoodie. He had a worn out, leather satchel over one shoulder. There really isn’t any place for him to stash a shovel.

 _You’re a wizard_ , Taako texts in response. _It’s called magic, Barold. You could have a magic shovel._

“I’m putting my stone away,” Barry says, deliberately sliding it into his pocket. “Come on—if we wanna get the curse off as soon as possible then we should consult with other necromancy experts to see what their approach to this is. You, uh, probably shouldn’t mention that you did this to yourself.”

Taako gives Barry a suspicious look as he follows him into the graveyard. The paths that run up and down the length and breadth of the yard all converge in the middle of the graveyard, in front of a large building made of dark stone that looms ominously over the dead. Taako’s not sure if it’s a temple or a mausoleum or what, but all this seems like Barry’s _maybe_ taking him to meet a cult. Taako should tell Lup to keep a closer eye on her boyfriend.

“Okay,” says Barry, when they reach the big stone building.. “We’re not, uh, _exactly_ friends, but he’s also writing his dissertation on ancient necromantic rites and the ways they’re being repurposed and revived today. He’s just… got a different stance on them than I do. Comes with the territory of being, uh, sworn to the Raven Queen, I guess.” Barry lifts a hand, knocking on one of the heavy stone doors. “He knows his stuff though. This will be fine.”

It’s _worse_ than a cult. Barry’s brought him to see a nerd. A _religious_ nerd.

He reaches out to tug on Barry’s sleeve because _no way_. He spends enough time hanging around a cleric working for Merle. He doesn’t need to hear about someone else’s god too, especially not if they’re going to chastize him for the crime of wanting a _little_ extra cash. He has _student loans_ to pay off. If this is Barry’s way of punishing him, it’s cruel and unusual. Taako already can’t talk—why does he need to suffer through this too?

The door opens. The man standing on the other side of it is younger than Barry, maybe just a couple years older than Taako himself, with flawless dark skin and high cheekbones. His dreads are half-up, some of them falling on his shoulders and around his absurdly handsome face. He’s dressed in all black, which makes the stark white of the raven’s skull hanging around his neck stand out even more. He looks surprised to see them.

“Kravitz,” says Barry. “Sorry to, uh, bother you at work, but we’ve kind of got a situation here.”

“Hi,” says Taako, since Barry apparently isn’t going to introduce him to the hot boy. “I’m Taako, I—” He cuts himself off coughing, raising a hand to his mouth and trying not to dry heave in front of Kravitz, who he just met, because god, can this curse not be cool for like, a _second?_ He winces as the coin comes up and falls into his palm.

Taako wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand. Kravitz looks alarmed. Barry looks resigned.

“Nice to meet you, Taako,” Kravitz says, then turns to Barry. “You know I’m not a healer, right?”

“That’s not—Taako’s not sick.” Barry gestures towards Taako’s hand, curled around the coin. “Show him.”

Taako would rather keep his gross throat coins to himself, but also he _does_ want this to stop. He holds out his hand, showing Kravitz the coin.

“It’s a curse,” Barry says. “Gold falls from his lips when he speaks, but it disappears as soon as someone else touches it. It’s definitely from the necromantic school of magic. It uses Taako’s vitality to make the coins. We’re, uh, kind of hoping you have something for this.”

The uncertain look on Kravitz’s face doesn’t fill Taako with confidence. “Not… off the top of my head.” Kravitz opens the door wider, stepping aside and gesturing for them to come in. “How did this _happen?_ ”

“Taako’s a grad student at the university too,” Barry says. “You know how things get in spell labs sometimes. People make mistakes, read old incantations for fun…”

Kravitz’s expression goes instantly suspicious. “Did you curse him?” he asks. “Did you accidentally curse your friend without first figuring out how to reverse the spell?”

“No!” Barry looks very offended. Taako doesn’t see _why_. Accidentally cursing his friends and family sounds like a very Barry thing for him to do to Taako. “I know you don’t agree with my research, but I have _some_ ethics.”

“I caught you digging up a grave last year!” Kravitz says. He’d struck Taako as kind of cool and polished when he answered the door. Taako may need to reevaluate that opinion. “You were breaking open the coffin with a shovel!”

“He’d been stuck in there for decades! I was doing him a favour,” Barry says, shaking his head. “He _thanked_ me for digging him up!”

“You decided to do it in the middle of the night, by yourself, without telling _anyone_ working at the temple!” Kravitz gestures around the dark, tall hallway. “There’s _always_ someone here. If you’d waited six hours you could have had a whole crew helping. And you’re a _wizard_. Why were you using a _shovel?_ ”

Taako raises a hand before the argument can escalate further. Kravitz raises a good point about the shovel thing though. Barry’s spent decades studying magic. He should act like it. A necromancer standing in a graveyard shouldn’t have to dig his own holes.

Kravitz and Barry stop bickering, turning their attention to him.

“Sorry, bud,” Barry says, sheepish. “Didn’t mean to get distracted. This is Kravitz. He works for the Raven Queen. _I’m_ going to keep working on the curse too, but reversing necromancy isn’t really my, uh, specialty. Kravitz, on the other hand…”

“It sounds like an overwrought wasting curse,” Kravitz says, in lieu of acknowledging Barry’s grudging respect. “There’s definitely dramatic irony baked into it—something about punishing greed? It sounds like the original curse is Draconic, given all that, but I’d have to do some research to be sure.”

Taako raises his eyebrows and shoots Barry an impressed look. Kravitz isn’t just a pretty face.

“I told you he’d be a good person to ask.” Barry turns back to Kravitz. “So? Do you think you could try and help with this? Taako’s not involved with necromancy, I promise. He’s studying transmutation.”

Kravitz looks reluctant to agree to help, but the kind of reluctant that deep down means yes. “Okay,” he says, after a long moment. “You’re sure you don’t have more details about how this happened? If I knew that—”

“Nope,” Barry says, shaking his head. “It was just a random accident, but one we need help reversing. You were the first person I thought of for that.”

The appeal to Kravitz’s vanity obviously works. A pleased smile flashes across his lips before he schools his expression. “All right. I’ll take a look at my research and talk to the High Priestess to see if she has any thoughts,” he says. “Should we meet tomorrow? I’m free after three.”

Taako pulls out his stone of farspeech, opening up his contacts and handing it to Kravitz, gesturing for him to go ahead and add himself in. He’s gotta have _some_ way of talking to Kravitz.

“I think that means after three works for Taako,” Barry says. “Where do you wanna meet?”

Kravitz finishes entering his number and Taako takes his stone back, waving a hand at Barry to stop any suggestions he doesn’t approve of. Barry will spend a week drinking fantasy protein shakes if nobody stops him. He can’t be trusted to pick a good coffee shop and maybe they _should_ do this in the library, but Taako’s not going to give up the chance of an impromptu coffee date with the hot goth nerd Barry’s just introduced him to.

 _The Davy Lamp_ , he texts, sending it to both Kravitz and Barry. _The only good coffee shop on campus._

#

Taako shows up five minutes late to The Davy Lamp and the only person there is Barry, nursing a cup of coffee, and Ren, who waves to him from behind the counter. Taako frowns, pulling out his stone of farspeech so he can text Barry his disapproval of the situation. _Where’s Kravitz?_

Barry glances at his stone, then shrugs. “Not here yet, but his line of work isn’t exactly, uh, predictable. He’s probably just running a little late. What do you want? I’ll order for you.”

 _Mocha. What do you mean, his line of work? People don’t have spontaneous funerals, Barold._ Taako takes a seat next to Barry. _They don’t wake up and decide it looks like a nice day to bury a dude._

“That’s not—”

The door to the coffee shop swings open again and Kravitz enters, looking flustered. “Sorry,” he says, heading over to Barry and Taako’s table right away. “Sorry, got tied up. Have you been here long?”

 _Ages_ , Taako texts, then holds up his stone so Kravitz remembers why they’re all here. _Buy me a mocha to make up for it?_

Kravitz takes out his own stone and laughs when he sees the text. “I see,” he says. “You’ve been here ages, but you haven’t ordered yet?”

 _Second drink_ , Taako replies, immediately. _Ren will vouch for me._

Barry leans over to take a look at Taako’s stone because Barry is rude. “What are you—Taako! Kravitz, you don’t have to buy Taako a drink. He was late too.”

“I don’t mind,” Kravitz says. “Let me order and I’ll be right back.”

Hot _and_ polite. Taako likes Kravitz.

 _He’s my favourite now_ , Taako texts Barry.

Barry just rolls his eyes. _He’s your favourite because you think he’s cute._

Taako gives Barry a pointed look. _Yes_ , he says. _Ofc._

“Wait,” says Barry, out loud, even though Kravitz is _right there_. “What does O-F-C mean again?”

Kravitz sets a cup down in front of Taako before he can respond. There’s a mountain of whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top because Ren has Taako’s back. He nods his thanks to Kravitz as Kravitz takes a seat between him and Barry.

“I’ve been looking into the curse,” Kravitz says. “I haven’t been able to find anything that matches the spell you described exactly, but I’ve found parallels. I spoke with the High Priestess and it sounds like a punishment curse to her, which is what I was thinking too.” Kravitz slips a notebook out of his bag, looking at Taako without a hint of suspicion on his handsome face. “I don’t suppose you’ve upset any necromancers lately?”

Taako snorts, nodding towards Barry. “Does—” He catches himself before he can say anything else, but the damage is done. The word lodges in his throat, a physical thing, and Taako coughs, turning his head away because _cool_ , now hot boy gets to see him hack up more fake gold.

Taako squeezes his eyes shut, covering his mouth with his hand as the coin scrapes it way up his esophagus, leaving him gasping for breath when it finally comes up and he can pull it away, shining and spotted with blood.

His throat is raw. Barry and Kravitz are both watching him closely, concern etched on their faces. Taako must look real rough if Kravitz looks that worried. They’ve only just met.

“It was a magical accident. He didn’t get cursed by anyone,” Barry says. “Taako was trying to make a joke about me, I think. Bud, you gotta be careful.”

Taako glowers at Barry. It doesn’t matter that Barry’s _right_ and Taako should be careful—this sucks and he doesn’t need lectures right now.

“Can I see the coin more closely this time?” asks Kravitz. “I know you said it disappears when someone else touches it, but can you hold it out for me?”

Taako turns back to the _nice_ one here and holds out the coin for Kravitz to examine. It looks old. It’s definitely a collector’s item, not legal tender. Even if the coins stuck around, Taako’s not sure what he would do with them.

“That’s something,” Kravitz says, after a moment. “That coin’s, what, seven hundred years old? That’s a timeframe for when the spell originated. I can work with that.”

“Wait,” says Barry. “Wait, are you looking for the _spell_? We were just hoping you could… I don’t know. Put in a good word? With, uh, your goddess? Maybe just _break_ it?”

“It’s easier to break spells when you know what you’re dealing with,” Kravitz says. “I’m not going to ask the Raven Queen to take off this curse. She’s a _goddess_. She has things to do.”

“Does she?” Barry asks. “It’s not like people are going to stop dying.”

Kravitz gives Barry an annoyed look. “Isn’t that what you’re aiming for?”

“I don’t see you breaking down the doors of the med school saying they’re defying the natural order. Why is what I do—”

Taako raps his knuckles on the table, twice, to get their attention because _really?_ He’s sitting between them, coughing up blood and gold and _suffering_ and this is what they focus on? Taako takes it back. Kravitz isn’t even that handsome.

He reaches over, stealing Kravitz’s notebook and pen. Taako flips it open to a blank page so he can write. _You’re forgetting what’s important here_ — _Taako_.

Barry has a grace to look sheepish. “Sorry, bud,” he says. “We’ll be good.”

Taako doubts that.

“The Raven Queen doesn’t usually do things like lift curses from individuals,” Kravitz says, after a moment. “That’s the kind of thing her _followers_ handle, which is why I’m here, meeting with you. I want to help.”

Taako raises an eyebrow at Kravitz, flipping to a new page. _Not badly enough to give your goddess a call though. What kind of cleric are you?_

“I’m not a cleric,” Kravitz says, blinking down at the notebook. He looks at Barry. “You told him I was a cleric?”

“It didn’t come up,” says Barry. “I was about to, uh, explain your job when you showed up and then we got distracted.”

Kravitz is a paladin. Has to be. Taako’s never been so disappointed. No _wonder_ Barry doesn’t like him much—he’s just a trumped up goth hall monitor. It tracks that Barry is trying to keep the curse thing on the down low too. Taako can’t say he’s met many paladins with a nuanced understanding of whatever law they follow.

“I’m a warlock,” says Kravitz, surprising Taako yet again. “The Raven Queen is my patron. Technically I have a direct line to her, but—”

Taako taps his pen against his notepad to cut Kravitz—apparently far more goth than Taako gave him credit for—off. _So ask her?_ he writes. _Why not try?_

“Have you ever worshipped the Raven Queen?” Kravitz asks. “Ever been to a service at one of her temples or left her offerings? She’s not a goddess who gives out favours lightly. How would you like it if someone you didn’t know turned up at your door asking you for a favour out of nowhere?”

When Kravitz puts it like that, it kind of makes sense. Taako pulls a face and scrawls another note. _So unless I hear the good word about her lady death-ship there’s no divine intervention in the foreseeable future?_

Kravitz grimaces at Taako’s choice of words, but nods. “And even then she’s, uh, very close with Lady Istus. It’s more likely she’d let fate decide your… fate.”

Gods suck. Taako doesn’t _have_ thousands of years to sit around watching the world unfold around him. He’s got one life and it’s gonna be a hell of a lot shorter and more frustrating if he can’t get this spell off fast. He talks a _lot_.

“Well, thanks for your help, Kravitz,” Barry says. If your goddess isn’t going to help out, I think Taako and I can take it from here. No offense, Krav, but _this_ side of necromancy is more my thing than yours.”

“I don’t know why you think I would take offense to that,” Kravitz says, voice dry. “Yes, you are more likely to curse someone with a wasting spell than I am. I can help, though. I _want_ to help. Just because the Raven Queen won’t take an interest in this doesn’t mean there’s nothing I can do.”

“It’s okay. Seriously. Taako and I will figure it out,” Barry says, shaking his head. “Thank you for your time and I’m sure Taako appreciates the drink, but we’re in the same program, Kravitz. You and I know the same material. I only asked because I thought your goddess might be able to lend a hand.”

Kravitz looks skeptical. Taako would protest that maybe dismissing Kravitz out of hand isn’t the best plan, except he’s pretty sure Barry’s trying to dissuade Kravitz from helping them further because Kravitz is bound to discover the curse if he keeps helping and then—probably—figure out that Taako cast it on himself.

Taako doesn’t _want_ Barry’s hot rival thinking he’s an idiot, but beyond that he’s not sure what the consequences of it would be. Maybe being a warlock for the Raven Queen is enough like being a paladin that they really shouldn’t be flaunting their—Taako’s—rule breaking in Kravitz’s face.

 _Thanks for the drink_ , he writes in his notebook, tilting it so only Kravitz can see. _It’s cool, if I die I’ll make sure your goddess knows it was Barold’s fault._

Kravitz laughs and Barry, leaning over to peer at the notebook, mutters a half-hearted “Hey!” of protest. Taako’s relying on Barry alone to save his life now though—if he’s gonna go, he’s gonna go flirting with a hot boy at Barry’s expense.

#

“Is he really that much of a narc?” Lup hands Taako the container of palak paneer before he has to ask for it. Sometimes living with his sister and her boyfriend is annoying—right now Taako is grateful for it. Lup _gets_ him and that makes it a lot easier to not talk when it comes to stuff like getting a second serving of takeout. “I mean, I’m not saying I don’t trust you to save Taako from himself, babe, but it couldn’t _hurt_ to have someone else on the case.”

“In theory I’d love to have someone else helping us out,” Barry says. “Kravitz is good at what he does. That’s why I brought Taako to him in the first place. It’s just...” He shifts in his seat, visibly uncomfortable. “Okay, it’s nothing to worry about, but the book Taako was reading from might _technically_ be on a couple list of banned necromancy texts.”

Taako sets down his spoon and levels Barry with the most unimpressed glare he can muster because in what world is this not something to _worry_ about?

“Barry,” says Lup, voice very even. “Would the death cops arrest you if they found out you had that book in our apartment?”

“I’d probably just get a warning,” Barry says, after a beat. “I mean, _I_ haven’t cast any of the spells in the book, but I did leave it out for Taako to find, so I might get a warning for, uh, reckless endangerment. Maybe.”

Taako takes out his stone so he can participate in this conversation. _And you didn’t think this was relevant before now?_

“I thought we’d be able to get the Raven Queen to just banish the curse!” Barry protests. “I didn’t think it would come up!”

 _I’m not going to death jail for you, Bluejeans,_ Taako types. _I will bring you down with me._

“Nobody is going to death jail,” Lup says. “Taako, calm down. Barry’s going to figure this out. He doesn’t want you to die from this curse either. It’s going to be fine.”

 _Is it?_ Taako asks, staring Barry down across the second hand kitchen table. _I TA for Merle “Zone of Truth” Highchurch, Barold. Be honest with me._

“I’ll figure it out,” Barry says, which isn’t quite the same as promising everything is going to be fine. “Asking the Raven Queen for help was a long shot anyway. We’ll go back to my original plan. I’m going to finish reading the tome and figure out an alternate way to break the curse. In the meantime… I guess just try not to speak?”

“In the meantime,” says Lup, “maybe it’s time for you to get back on Fantasy Tinder.”

#

Taako is lying in bed, swiping left on a guy whose profile photos all feature the largest tarantula he’s ever seen while remembering exactly why he left Fantasy Tinder, when he gets a text from Kravitz.

_I know Barry said you didn’t need my help, but I’ve been doing some research on draconic curses. Do you have time to talk?_

Taako has just enough time to skim the text before Kravitz sends a follow up.

_I’m sorry, that was bad phrasing._

Taako grins to himself. Kravitz texting him while he’s browsing a dating app is definitely _not_ a sign of anything—apparently he’s a death criminal, so it can’t be—but it still feels nice to get a message from a dude’s he’s pretty sure isn’t trying to steal his kidneys. _Wow, death boy,_ he sends back. _Way to rub it in._

 _I really didn’t mean it that way_ , says Kravitz. _Barry is a talented researcher, but I have access to the temple’s library and he doesn’t. I think I can help, but I don’t want to do anything without your permission, Taako._

Taako hesitates. He really _doesn’t_ want to get on the Raven Queen’s shit list, but he also doesn’t want to _die_ and so far Barry hasn’t exactly filled him with confidence. Kravitz figured out the spell was draconic and the period it was from all on his own. He’s _smart_. Also hot and apparently a genuinely nice person.

 _Okay_ , he says. _You can help out, but no telling Barold. I want everyone in peak performance for the whole “making sure Taako doesn’t die” thing so let’s not undermine his self-confidence._

 _I don’t know if this came across during our bickering, but Barry and I don’t actually hang out a lot_ , Kravitz sends back. _I promise to keep it to myself. Are you feeling okay?_

It’s a tricky question to answer. Is he feeling okay? Taako _likes_ talking. He does a lot of it. He keeps having to catch himself over little things—not full sentences, but protesting Lup taking the last piece of naan, or someone bumping into him on the street. Taako’s discovering he makes all sorts of sounds he never paid attention to before, and now the threat of coughing up coins and draining a little more of his life force and magic is keeping him muzzled. Which is a whole other existential can of worms that Taako _really_ doesn’t want to open. How much life force does one person _have?_ How many accidental sound effects add up to a whole Taako?

He and Kravitz don’t know each other well enough for Taako to discuss the looming threat of death-by-coin with him though.

 _You know_ , he replies, definitely too late for the pause to not feel significant, _I’m coping._

 _That was a personal question, sorry_ , Kravitz says, so quickly he must have been waiting for Taako’s response so he could apologize for asking. In some ways, it’s nice to know that someone can be that hot and still awkward. Maybe it’s a too-into-death-in-some-capacity thing. Maybe they’re _all_ nerds.

 _It’s cool_ , Taako says, grinning at his stone. _When I told Merle I couldn’t speak because I was cursed he said thank god and handed me a pile of marking to do. It’s nice that SOMEONE is worried._

 _I might be able to help with that too_ , _if you’re interested,_ Kravitz says, after a brief pause. _The curse. Not people’s reaction to it._

Kravitz is the most awkward person Taako has ever texted with. He sincerely hopes he hasn’t tried Fantasy Tinder. _You sure? Because I’d be down with you telling people they had to be nice to me or the Raven Queen would get them or whatever. That works for me._

_I was thinking more like an amulet to protect against the effects of necromantic spells, but if you’d rather I just try and intimidate people for you…_

Taako laughs, despite him and despite the curse, and then grimaces as he feels the spell twist inside him, tugging at his magic and his lungs and forcing a cold, hard lump of gold into his throat. The more he speaks, the worse the spell gets—even a little noise sets it off now.

Taako has to set his stone aside, reaching for the box of tissues beside his bed so he can catch the blood as he coughs, heaving up another fake coin. He’s definitely not getting a date like this. Hard to make a good first impression when laughing at someone’s jokes make you cough up blood.

Taako wipes off his mouth and picks up his stone with his free hand. There’s a text waiting from Kravitz.

_Taako? If you’re not comfortable with that, it’s fine._

Taako would take a blessing from _any_ god to offset the curse. _Sorry, was busy coughing up some gold,_ he says. _Would love an amulet._

 _Are you okay?_ Kravitz replies, immediately.

Taako’s not allowed to find the death cop cute and endearing. Barry seems pretty sure that Kravitz would arrest them both for necromancy crimes. _I’m good_ , he says. _Laughed and the curse said no._

 _Let’s meet tomorrow afternoon_ , says Kravitz. _I’ll bring you an amulet. The sooner you get some kind of protection from it, the better._

Taako glances at the blood on the coin and tissues in his other hand. Normally he’d tease Kravitz a little—say something about it being forward of him for wanting to meet again so soon—but Taako’s throat hurts from bringing up the coin and Kravitz’s words feel ominous.

 _Sure_ , he sends back. _The Davy Lamp, 2 o’clock._

#

This time, Taako arrives to find Kravitz already waiting at a table, dressed in a black sweater and jeans, with his hair pulled up. There’s a single, small raven feather dangling from his left ear. It’s a good look for him. Goth, but understated. Taako’s into it in a way he probably shouldn’t be into Barry’s rival. Kravitz has two drinks and his stone of farspeech sitting on the table in front of him on the table. One of the drinks is a mocha, so Taako assumes it’s for him and walks over to join him, dropping into the seat across from him and reaching for the drink.

“I’m sorry about—I’m not very good over text,” Kravitz says, when he sits, then pauses. “Hi, Taako.”

Taako smirks, raising his eyebrows as he takes a sip of his mocha because for Kravitz to apologize _that_ fast he had to have been rehearsing this in his head.

Kravitz winces, which just proves Taako’s theory. Also that he has some self-awareness. “Okay, yes, I deserve that. Sometimes I’m not great in person either.”

Taako puts down his drink so he can get out his stone too and they can talk. _It’s cool,_ he says. _I get it. I know Barry_. _You spend enough time with dead people and you forget how alive people work._

Kravitz looks down at his stone and laughs. “That’s fair. Although in Barry’s defense, he’s got a girlfriend he lives with so he can’t be that bad with people.”

 _No, he is_ , Taako reassures Kravitz, immediately. _Lup’s just weird too._ He pauses, realizing Kravitz might not _know_ Lup, and looks down at his stone again. _She’s my sister. I’m allowed to say that._

“I know.” Kravitz smiles across the table at Taako. He really _is_ handsome. Too bad he’d want to arrest Taako for death crimes if he knew Taako was an idiot who accidentally cursed himself. “I’ve seen her at department parties and the two of you… look alike.”

Taako snorts. _We’re twins_ , he says. _It’s cool. You can say we have the same face._

“I don’t know,” says Kravitz. “I think I’d be able to tell you apart. You don’t exactly fade into the background.”

Taako looks down at his drink, suppressing a laugh because he can’t tell if hot goth boy is flirting with him or not, but if he starts hacking up blood in front of him again the needle will probably swing right back around to _not_.

Kravitz clears his throat. “I, uh, I brought you the amulet I mentioned. It’s not a cure, but it should help. The head priestess blessed it, and I asked for the Raven Queen’s favour to be bestowed on whoever wears it.” Kravitz reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small bundle of dark silk. He holds it out to Taako. “Wear it until the curse is broken.”

Taako reaches out to take the amulet from Kravitz, unwinding the fabric he wrapped it in—a handkerchief, because of course Kravitz is the kind of guy who just _has_ a grey and purple silk handkerchief lying around to wrap blessed jewelry in, although maybe it’s a pocket square and not, you know, for blowing your nose in. It’s heavier than Taako expected—a silver medallion engraved with a feather like the one Kravitz has dangling from his ear, and strong on a piece of red leather. It looks spooky as hell.

Taako glances up at Kravitz, then puts the amulet on and slips it into his shirt, wear it rests heavy and cold against his chest. He picks up his stone. _Really committed to the aesthetic, huh?_

Kravitz, looking at the screen on his stone of farspeech, laughs and breaks the weird tension that settled over them when he pulled out the amulet. “Maybe a little. It’s an old medallion. We… _I_ thought it would help push back against the curse.”

Taako raises his eyebrows. Transmutation is his wheelhouse, not necromancy and _obviously_ not Draconic curses. He’s not sure what age has to do with pushing back against the spell.

“My family has been dedicated to the Raven Queen for a long time,” Kravitz says, reading the question on Taako’s face. “My mother was a paladin for her.” He glances at the front of Taako’s shirt, where the medallion is tucked away. “It’s been in my family for… a while.”

Taako shakes his head, grabbing his stone again. _My dude, you can’t give me your crazy old family bird medal. We barely know each other. Barry’s your nemesis and he’s, like, practically my brother-in-law._

Kravitz snorts when he sees the message, shaking his head. “It’s fine,” he says. “Barry and I disagree on… a lot of things, but not so badly I’d leave you vulnerable to this curse, Taako. You can give me the amulet back once it’s broken.” He raises an eyebrow. “I’m a warlock for the Raven Queen. I’m _really_ not worried about a token I blessed in her name going missing.”

 _Okay_ , Taako says, after a moment’s pause. _That’s fair. For real, though. Are you sure it’s cool for me to take this?_

He’s not planning on stealing it, but Kravitz doesn’t know the full story of _why_ Taako has this curse, and that context seems important. Taako doubts that Kravitz would be so concerned if he knew Taako did this to himself because he wanted to make some easy money. Taako’s _also_ got doubts about Barry’s whole he-will-send-us-to-death-jail thing now too, but not enough to confess.

Enough to feel bad about _not_ confessing though. For sure.

“Yes, it’s fine,” Kravitz promises, looking very sincere and handsome on the other side of the table. He may be a warlock, but his mom being a paladin _definitely_ tracks. “Even if I didn’t trust you, one of the perks of being sworn to a death goddess is being able to leave your things alone in the library and have them still be there when you come back. You’d be surprised what people think someone studying necromancy is capable of.” He pauses. “You live with Barry. Maybe you wouldn’t.”

Taako can’t help himself, he lets out a sharp, short bark of laughter because _yeah_. He’s come home to Barry reassembling a rat skeleton—that he _claimed_ was a squirrel, like that made it better—on the kitchen floor and he _knows_ Barry is a more typical example of someone studying necromancy than Kravitz.

The laughs costs him. His breath catches in his throat and turns into a cough—raspy and wet in his lungs. Taako turns his head and covers his mouth with a hand as something smaller than normal pushes its way up his throat and falls into his palm.

When he pulls his hand back, instead of a gold piece, there’s a gleaming silver coin sitting there—still spotted with blood, still large enough to leave his throat raw, but smaller and slimmer than the gold he’s been coughing up.

Taako presses his lips tightly together as he places it on the table between him and Kravitz, looking up to meet Kravitz’s warm, brown eyes. The amulet offset the curse all right. It downgraded the value of the fake currency Taako’s magic is pulling out of him. It’s _not_ funny because it still hurts and he’s still cursed, but he’s been having a _rough_ week and in the face of all the blood stains he’s gotten on his clothes and how stupid he’s been feeling for doing this to _himself_ , the silver coin is the funniest thing he’s ever seen.

He clasps a hand over his mouth as he lets out a muffled burst of laughter, regretting it immediately, but also _fuck_ it’s just so _stupid_ —of all the ways for the amulet to help, of all the ways for that help to manifest. This whole thing is so incredibly dumb and he can’t believe some ancient dragon thought the cure for this should be a _kiss_ , except that maybe the point was that gold dropping from your lips would attract the wrong kind of people—people who were interested in the money they thought you could make them, even though the gold was fake. Taako fucking _hates_ dragons.

He braces himself on the table, gasping for air in between bouts of coughing and laughter that is rapidly turning into just coughing because his throat is full of metal and blood—they’re choking him and Taako can’t breathe, can’t do anything but shudder and try to get the coins caught in his esophagus _out_.

Kravitz is there, suddenly, on his knees in front of Taako, murmuring something low and urgent and musical—a spell. Taako, dimly, through the panic eclipsing everything else in his brain, can feel the sensation of magic prickling against his skin, down his throat, and then it’s gone and Taako’s lap is full of silver coins and he can breathe again.

He clings to Kravitz’s shoulder, chest heaving as he takes in deep, gulping breaths as quietly as he possibly can, which—actually, now that he’s getting air, Taako’s realizing his breathing is a lot quieter than it should be. He sits back, focusing on Kravitz, and gestures towards his mouth. The curse almost choked him to death. He doesn’t feel like texting and it’s pretty clear what he’s asking here.

“I cast Silence,” Kravitz says, looking sheepish. “I… thought I would be a bard, growing up. Before the Raven Queen called to me. I still have a knack for the magic and sometimes it comes in handy.”

God, Kravitz is a _nerd_. A _smart_ nerd—a nerd quick enough to work out how to stop the curse from killing Taako in the middle of his favourite coffee shop while Taako was choking to death on it. Silence is a simple, _brilliant_ solution that Taako or Barry or Lup should have thought of before this, except apparently they’re just useless wizards in the face of Kravitz, the incredibly handsome warlock-slash-bard.

Maybe it’s the near death experience and the adrenaline talking, but Taako _really_ wants to kiss him.

He reaches out and gives Kravitz a pat on the cheek instead. It’ll have to do. Kravitz gives his knee a squeeze—Taako didn’t even _realize_ Kravitz was holding onto it. He definitely needs a minute to straighten his whole everything out—and then gets to his feet.

“I’m going to order you tea with honey,” he says. “For your throat. Then how about I walk you home? You look like you could use some rest.”

Taako feels like his respiratory system just got put through a meat grinder. Warm tea and a nap sound great. He nods, reaching for his stone again.

 _Good news though_ , he types. _Amulet works._

Kravitz snorts. “I noticed that,” he says. “Silver’s smaller than gold. Who says the gods don’t have a sense of humour?”

Taako gives Kravitz a quick, weak grin in response and watches as he walks over to the counter to order from a _very_ concerned looking halfling. Half the shop is staring at Taako, now that he’s looking, and the other half is studiously _not_ staring at him. Leaving sounds _great_. No offense to the gods, but Taako would really rather not be the butt of their jokes.

#

Lup and Barry aren’t home when Kravitz drops Taako off at the apartment. It’s probably better that way. Taako’s not really in the mood for Barry’s paranoia because it’s finally sinking in that this curse isn’t just a silly mistake he made—it’s serious. If Kravitz hadn’t been a bard, if he wasn’t a fast thinker, Taako could be dead right now. He’s got to be vigilant about making noise if he wants to live.

He feels weaker too, after the curse pulled so much cash from him. Even if it was silver and not gold, Taako kind of feels like lying down and taking a long ass nap.

He settles for making soup instead. It gives him something to do besides worry about his looming demise. He _definitely_ can’t call Kravitz off now. He needs all the help he can get if he’s going to survive the curse.

Taako chops a small mountain of onion and doesn’t so much as sniffle. He starts sweating them off in a heavy stockpot and prepares to spend the evening making the best french onion soup this side of Faerun. Taako wants something warm and soothing for his throat. Something covered in cheese. He _deserves_ something warm, soothing, and cheesy.

Lup knows something’s up as soon as she opens the door. “Oh shit,” she says, pulling off her boots. “You’re making Uncle Hubert’s secret soup. What’s up?”

“It smells _amazing_ ,” says Barry, following her inside.

“Everything in this apartment is going to smell like slow cooked onions for the next week.” Lup gets out her stone of farspeech and walks over to peer into the pot, where the soup is simmering away. “Has it got enough pepper?”

Taako elbows her away from his soup and fishes out his own stone so he can open the group chat with her and Barry. _Excuse you? It’s perfect. I just wanted soup._

“No, this is definitely feeling sorry for yourself soup.” Lup relents and steps back, leaning against the counter instead of looming over Taako. “Is this about the curse, T? We’ll figure it out.”

Taako’s not gonna tell Lup about Kravitz and he’s _definitely_ not admitting to almost dying in The Davy Lamp today. Ren wasn’t working. He’s probably safe. Taako shrugs. _Throat hurts. Choked on a coin for a minute today._

“Are you okay?” Barry asks, from the other side of their combined kitchen/living area. “Is the spell getting worse? If it gets bad, you probably shouldn’t spend too much time alone. We don’t want it to overwhelm you.”

Barry’s late to the party, but Taako guesses it’s not entirely his fault. He shakes his head. _Cha’boy’s good. I’m here, aren’t I? Just came up the wrong way._

“Sure, babe, but all it takes it _one_ time.” Taako trying to wave this off obviously isn’t working on Lup. “We’re not trying to hover, but you’re under a necromantic wasting curse right now. We’re _allowed_ to be concerned.”

A small part of Taako wants to tell Lup she’s not his mom, but Taako’s self-aware enough to realize that’s just because he’s annoyed at the whole situation. It’s not Lup’s fault he did this to himself. _If you don’t want to eat my soup, that’s all you have to say. We don’t need to make it into a whole thing._

Lup rolls her eyes. “Okay, I’ll drop it,” she says. “Hand me the bread. I’ll cut the croutons for the top of the soup. The least I can do is help you make it.”

Taako reaches for the loaf of brioche he transmuted out of Barry’s weird, seedy brown bread, handing it over to Lup. _Acceptable_ , he says. _I’ll let you grate the gruyere too because I’m feeling generous._

“Because you don’t want to do it yourself, you mean,” Lup says. “Fine, I’ll be on cheese duty.”

“Is this soup worth eating cheese for?” Barry asks. “Should I take a fantasy lactaid for this?”

“Oh, most _definitely_ ,” says Lup. “We’re not sharing a bed tonight, but _deffo_ worth it.”

Taako’s not going to let the curse stop him from expressing his truth. He’s got ways around it. He knocks twice on the counter, waiting until they’re both looking at him to send a short, pointed message to the group chat: _Gross_.

He turns away on the sound of Barry protesting that it’s not _his_ fault his body is bad at processing lactose as Lup laughs and wanders over to give him a kiss. He may have deflected Lup’s questions for now, but the amulet is just a stop-gap solution. Eventually, the curse is going to rear up in full force again. Taako doesn’t want to think about it. He’ll even take doing Merle’s marking over thinking about it.

Taako holes up in his bedroom with a pile of papers on material spell components and prepares to be bored out of his mind. Marking is tedious, but he has to pay attention to what he’s reading and that helps stop the whole brooding thing the near death experience brought on. He gets why Barry and Kravitz are _like that_ now—Taako’s got the urge to wear a bunch of black and say spooky shit without thinking about it too and he’s only had the one close brush with death so far.

Emphasis on the “so far.”

He’s slogged through a good half of the papers when his stone of farspeech vibrates on the desk with a new message from Kravitz: _How are you feeling?_

Taako hesitates. Talking about it is definitely _not_ taking his mind off of it. But also, the papers are boring as fuck. He picks up his stone. _Checking up on me, handsome?_

Kravitz’s reply is almost immediate. _You think I’m handsome?_

Taako bites his bottom lip to keep from laughing. Kravitz is dangerous for his continued health. _I have eyes. Awfully quick to drop the concern there._

_I figured if you were well enough to flirt you were doing okay._

Taako is glad he’s alone in his room and not out with Lup and Barry because Lup would definitely call him out on smiling at his stone. She’s the worst. _I’m okay_ , he confirms. _Sore throat, but I’m making soup to cope._

 _Lemon and honey in hot water is good for that too_ , Kravitz says. _That’s what I used to drink when I had a concert._

 _Can’t believe you’re a BARD._ Taako needs the caps to properly express how he feels about this. _Were you in a band? I bet you were in a band. Tell me you spent your teenage years dedicated to fantasy My Chemical Romance._

_I can neither confirm nor deny._

Taako snorts and then has to put his stone down while he coughs up a penny into his hand. It leaves his already abused throat feeling raw, but it’s better than the gold. He closes his eyes and takes a breath. Honey, lemon, and hot water _does_ sound nice right now. _Okay_ , he says, picking up his stone again. _You’re not allowed to be funny anymore. That wrung a penny out of me._

 _Only a penny?_ Kravitz asks, followed up be a quick second text. _That wasn’t a bit. I meant that that’s good news. If the curse is pulling out pennies, that means the amulet is working._

Taako’s mouth tastes like blood. Objectively Kravitz is right, but he’d still rather not be coughing up anything right now. _Maybe it means you were only a little funny._ He drops the penny on the floor, watching as it disappears into thin air, banished because Taako’s not touching it anymore. _You’re right, but also? This sucks._

 _Are you sure someone didn’t do this to you?_ Kravitz asks. _I know Barry said it was an accident, but this seems too direct to be an accident. Is it possible someone is targeting you? I was going to ask earlier, but… you know._

 _I almost died? Yeah, no, good call waiting to follow up._ Taako hesitates. He doesn’t want to _lie_ , but also there’s no way in hell he’s telling the truth. _Could have been targeted, but I’m a poor transmutation grad student. It’s not like I have a long list of enemies out there. I’m TAAKO. Everybody loves Taako._

_It’s not that I don’t think you’re very lovable, but I HAVE experienced undergrads before. None of them seem vengeful?_

Taako pauses, caught on the first part of Kravitz’s message because Kravitz _has_ been flirting back, hasn’t he? And he brought Taako a family heirloom amulet. Maybe if Taako flirted back a little harder the curse would—

Taako cuts that mercenary line of thinking off before he goes too far down the rabbithole of catfishing a hot goth into breaking his curse. He’s got some moral limits and unfortunately for his future health, that’s apparently one of them.

 _I mean, they’re nineteen. Of course they’re vengeful, but I am a GREAT TA_ , Taako says. _They’re passing Merle’s class because of me. Trust me. Maybe someone cursed me, but if they did it’s a mystery to me._

_Okay, noted. If someone is seeking vengeance it’s not one of your students._

_Could be Susan_ , Taako says, because he can’t help himself and also he wants to redirect.

_Susan?_

_My neighbour. She’s the worst. Keeps leaving notes about the “interesting” music we’re listening to at night and once I gave her a brownie and she asked what mix I used. They were homemade brownies, Kravitz. I make VERY good brownies._

_I see_ , says Kravitz. _She does sound suspicious._

_VERY. GOOD. BROWNIES._

“What are you smiling about?” Taako jumps, looking up at Lup standing in the doorway, grinning at him like the cat who caught the canary. “You’re not texting me and Barry. Is it a _boy?_ ”

Taako clutches his stone of farspeech to his chest and sticks his tongue out at Lup. Not being able to tell her to fuck off is the worst thing to ever happen to him.

Lup laughs. “I came to tell you soup’s ready to go in the oven. You wanna help with that or should I take over?”

Taako gives Lup a suspicious look, then looks down at his stone. Kravitz has sent him a text saying he’d like to try one of Taako’s brownies. Taako opens his chat with Lup and Barry. _I’ll do it_ , he says. _Be there in a second._

“Sure,” says Lup, after glancing at her stone. “Finish flirting and then let’s eat.”

Taako flips Lup off as he opens his message history with Kravitz again. _I could make that happen_ , he says. _I gotta go finish making soup first though. Thanks for checking in._

 _Of course, Taako_ , Kravitz replies. _Let me know if anything changes._

Taako gets up from his desk, feeling lighter than he did when he first got home, and switches back to the group chat again. _Hey_ , he says, _how does everyone feel about brownies?_

#

Taako doesn’t actually know anything about Kravitz’s daily schedule, but he shows up at the graveyard around sunset on a hunch. It’s just as spooky as it was the first time he visited, but Taako’s here with a purpose and a tupperware container full of brownies. It’s easier to brush aside the ominous way the Raven Queen’s temple looms over the graves. It’s imposing as hell, but Kravitz works here and Kravitz is a nerd.

Taako raises a hand, knocking on the temple door, and steps back, waiting for someone to open it. There’s a chance it won’t be Kravitz, which will make this awkward, and Taako _could_ just text him to ask about meeting up, but he likes the idea of surprising Kravitz and he’s due some good luck around now.

The door to the temple clicks open. There’s nobody on the other side.

“Persephone, did you open the door?” a familiar voice calls from further inside the temple. “I _told_ you not to do that. Sorry! She’s just—” Kravitz cuts himself off when he sees Taako, pulling up short. “Taako? What are you doing here?”.

Taako steps into the temple and holds out the tupperware to Kravitz.

“For me?” Kravitz takes the container when Taako nods, peeling off the lid to look inside. The brownies inside are glossy on top and smell amazing, even from where Taako is sitting. He demolished three of them the night before and had to fight off Lup and Barry to save some for Kravitz so he knows _exactly_ how good they are. Kravitz looks impressed and surprised. Maybe kind of charmed. Taako _thinks_ the smile on Kravitz’s face means he’s charmed. “You made me brownies?”

Taako pulls out his stone. _I need you to experience how good they are firsthand. No box mix can compare._

Kravitz fishes out his own stone of farspeech so he can look at the text, laughing when he reads it. “They look amazing. They’re—Persephone, no!” Kravitz slams the lid back onto the container as a massive, black Raven swoops in and lands on his shoulder, its black eyes intent on the brownies. “You are a _menace_. Sorry, Taako. This is Persephone. She likes to open doors and steal food.”

Taako blinks at the bird, watching as it fluffs up its feathers and takes off from Kravitz’s shoulder again, once the snacks are covered. _Your bird opened the door?_

“Ravens are smart,” Kravitz says, long suffering. “She’s the temple’s bird, but she likes me because I’m less strict than the priestess. Do you… can I offer you one of your own brownies _away_ from the ravens?”

 _Are you luring me further into your goth death temple?_ Taako grins at Kravitz. There’s something very endearing about watching a man get bullied by a bird that isn’t even _his_ bird. _Hell yeah. Love that. Show me the way, my dude._

“I don’t know if I’d call it luring. More like _inviting_ ,” Kravitz says, leading Taako further inside the temple.

It’s dark inside, which makes sense—goddess of death and all—but Taako is surprised to find it less creepy than he would have expected. He can hear ravens chittering, but there are thick curtains around the high, narrow windows that line the walls, muffling their sounds. It’s a peaceful space. Contemplative. Relaxing in spite of the whole death house thing. It’s _nice_ , and Taako would tell Kravitz it’s nice, but he can’t talk and Kravitz doesn’t have his stone in his hands anymore.

Taako misses being able to talk. If this goes on much longer, he really _is_ gonna learn to sign and force his friends to learn too. They should all learn anyway.

Kravitz pulls a curtain aside, revealing a hidden door, and glances at Taako over his shoulder, grinning. “This is my favourite part of the temple. Not many people get to see it,” he says, and then pushes the door open.

The room on the other side is dark. Kravitz whistles and lanterns lining the walls spring to life, revealing a cozy little room mostly occupied by an enormous pipe organ console—keyboards and buttons and levers stacked on top of each other, suspended over massive wooden pedals. Taako takes one look at it and the pleased expression on Kravitz’s face and immediately clasps a hand over his mouth to try and hold in his laughter because _honestly_ Kravitz is just trying to murder him at this point.

Kravitz, unrestricted by the curse, laughs and then hums something soft and short—something that leaves Taako feeling like he just licked an arcane battery as magic settles over his tongue. “Silence cast,” Kravitz says. “Sorry. It’s a nice room though.”

Taako drops his hand so he can stick his tongue out at Kravitz, walking over to sit on the bench in front of the organ. _Can you play this thing?_ he asks. _Looks like a spaceship._

“I can play,” Kravitz says, nodding. “There aren’t many occasions that call for it, honestly, and the ravens _hate_ it, but I can play.”

 _Spooky. Very appropriate and goth_. Taako shifts over, patting the space beside him on the bench. _Bring me my brownies, death boy. I was offered one of my own snacks._

Kravitz joins Taako on the bench and peels the lid off the tupperware, holding it out to him. “They smell amazing. Definitely better than boxed brownies.”

 _Right? These are a masterpiece! Susan is the worst._ Taako puts his stone of farspeech down so he can snag a brownie.

Kravitz nods, a serious expression on his face as he picks up a brownie for himself. “I see why you put her on the suspect list. Definitely suspicious.”

Taako is glad Kravitz cast silence on him because he can’t help laughing. He knocks their shoulders together gently and grabs his stone. _Seriously, my dude. You’re gonna make me laugh myself to death and that is not how I wanna go._

Kravitz doesn’t look unrepentant at all—he looks pleased. “I’ll do my best when the spell wears off.”

 _I don’t believe you_ , Taako says, taking a bite of his brownie and gesturing for Kravitz to do the same. Taako _knows_ he’s good at cooking, but the moment when other people realize how good he is in the kitchen is one of his favourite things to watch. His brownies are beyond good—they’re a fuckin’ masterpiece. An explosion of complex chocolatey flavour so rich Taako _has_ to cut them small for them to be a sensible serving size, but so good people still reach for seconds and thirds anyway.

Kravitz bites into the brownie and the self-satisfied look on his face morphs into one of surprise and appreciation because _fuck yeah_ it does. “Holy shit,” he says. “Taako, this is the best brownie I’ve ever had.”

Taako smirks, popping the rest of his brownie into his mouth so he can type. _I know, right? Cha’boy makes a baller baked good._

“What is _wrong_ with Susan?” Kravitz asks, taking another bite, and it seems to be a genuine question which is fair because Taako often wonders the exact same thing.

Taako likes Kravitz. A lot. He really has to get this curse off fast so he can do something about that. 

Also so he doesn’t die.

 _She’s the worst_ , Taako says. _Barry likes her._

Kravitz laughs. “Of course. All things in balance. What did she do to win him over?”

Taako shrugs. He’s technically the only one with a problem with Susan, but Kravitz doesn’t need to know Lup thinks the rivalry is one-sided and also not real. _Signed for packages when we’re out. Is a quiet neighbour. Suspiciously quiet._

“Suspiciously?” Kravitz repeats. He’s definitely laughing at Taako now. Taako kicks him gently.

 _You’re humouring me_ , he says. _I see how it is._

“No, I’m definitely taking your rivalry with your neighbour Susan completely seriously,” Kravitz says, a grin on his handsome face that completely contradicts his words. “It’s always the quiet ones who end up being up to something. Have you investigated the tastebud thing? Is she a robot?”

 _Rude!!!_ Taako texts, kicking Kravitz again as he hammers home the exclamation points. _Nobody takes Taako seriously._

Kravitz leans away from Taako, laughing and shaking his head. He doesn’t actually get off the bench or tell Taako to stop kicking him though. “I can’t imagine why.”

 _You’re all gonna regret this when Susan rises up against us_ , Taako says. _Then you’ll say “oh no, we should have listened to Taako” and wish I was there to help._

“This is ominous,” says Kravitz, glancing down at his stone. “Where did you go? Why aren’t you around to help us defeat your neighbour?”

 _She got me_ , says Taako, triumphant. _I was the biggest threat to her takeover. She had to take me out first. That’s how it starts. What do you think this curse IS, homie?_

Kravitz laughs again, but it’s more subdued this time. He straightens, tilting his head and studying Taako’s face. “We’re going to fix this,” he says, reaching out to cover Taako’s hand with his own. His touch is cold, like the temple around them, but his gaze as he looks at Taako is warm, concerned. “You know that, right? You’re going to be okay, Taako. You’ve got people working on the curse from multiple angles. You’re going to be okay.”

Taako looks down at the stone of farspeech in his free hand. _Don’t make promises you can’t keep, homie. It’s not your fault if things break bad for cha’boy here._ He hesitates, then turns his hand over, linking their fingers together. _Thanks though._

He glances up at Kravitz’s handsome face, the sympathetic frown creasing the space between his eyebrows. The air between them is so thick with tension Taako feels it like gravity, a tug in his chest drawing them closer together.

He swallows and the soreness in his throat is enough to make him pull his hand back and reach for another brownie so he has something to do with his mouth _other_ than kiss Kravitz.

 _So_ , he texts, because changing the subject is the best course of action here, _are you going to give me a first hand organ demonstration or what?_

It takes Kravitz a moment to recover, but he takes Taako brushing him off well—looks down at his stone and smiles. “The ravens are going to hate me,” he says. “One private concert, coming up.”

The organ isn’t a sexy instrument. Taako still finds himself endeared by it as he watches Kravitz play a quick, surprisingly cheerful song across a set of pedals and three keyboards.

#

Not being able to talk doesn’t get Taako out of marking, but it does mean his tutorials are mostly silent study time now, which is nice. He can spend them getting his own work done. Taako does _not_ get paid enough to start a group chat with twenty undergrad students whose names he’s not going to remember next semester. He’s a good TA, but he’s not _that_ good a TA. He’s got a notebook and a pen and if they wanna ask him one-on-one questions they can.

It’s also a good excuse for everyone involved to slack off. The curse comes with some perks.

 _Would the Raven Queen be cool with you writing songs for her?_ he texts Kravitz. _Have you asked? Maybe your calling is to pioneer religious goth rock_.

 _I don’t know why you assume that’s not already a genre_ , Kravitz replies, like he was sitting around waiting for a message from Taako in the middle of the day.

Taako grins down at his stone. _Krav, if you tell me you listened to religious goth rock about the Raven Queen as a teen I’m gonna laugh forever and when I die from coins it will be your fault._

Kravitz texts back immediately. _Okay, I won’t say anything_.

Taako has to smother a laugh both to save his throat and also because he’s technically supervising a bunch of impressionable youths and shouldn’t be flirting on the clock. Kravitz is a lot less awkward over text now than he was to begin with. Not as proper. He’s kind of an asshole when you goad him into it and Taako is _charmed_.

 _Your silence says it for you_ , he replies.

Someone at the front of the classroom clears their throat. “Taako, can you help us with the question about silver wire? Dr. Highchurch said metal components would be on the final, but silver wire’s not in the book.”

Taako is distracted, more focused on the text from Kravitz than the question. The words slip out without him thinking about them. “Silver wire is _for sure_ —” Taako catches himself as the curse does, heart rate spiking because _shit_ —shit, that wasn’t just a laugh that slipped out, it was half a fucking sentence and—

The amulet around Taako’s neck feels _hot_ as the spell seizes hold of his lungs and he coughs, turning away from the room full of students only half-watching as he hides his face in the crook of his elbow, hoping to ride out the attack. He hangs on to the edge of his desk as the first penny forces its way up and out, followed by another and another and his throat is full of them—an unending stream of copper coins worth less than the gold, but infinitely worse as he tries to gasp in air around them.

Distantly, he can hear voices—spiked with concern, yelling to get a professor, to call for a healer. There are hands on his shoulders, his arms, but everything feels far away—blurry, like his narrowing vision. He thinks he’s still coughing, but his whole world is the taste of copper and pain and the sensation of something burning against his chest

Taako slumps forward and he knows he’s falling, knows this is _it_ , and then everything goes black and he doesn’t know anything at all.

#

Taako wakes up on a couch that’s too small for him, staring up at the bottom of a plant pot hanging from the cheap, drop ceiling of Merle’s office. He feels awful. It’s worse than the coffee shop—worse than any attack he’s had so far. His whole chest aches and his throat feels like it’s on fire. His mouth still taste like blood.

“You’re awake.” Merle looms into view, too close for comfort. “When you said you cursed yourself and couldn’t talk, I didn’t think you meant _this_ ,” he says, gesturing to Taako, laid out on his couch. “How are you feeling?”

Taako levels Merle with an unimpressed look.

“Oh, right,” says Merle, disappearing from Taako’s line of sight. He comes back a moment later with a pen and a stack of sticky notes. “Here you are.”

Taako takes them from him. _How do you think?_ he writes on the first note, peeling it off the pad and sticking it to Merle’s arm. _Like I just got throat fucked by a cactus_. That note goes beside the first.

Merle reads them over and hums in agreement. “Been there,” he says. “I called Lup to come pick you up. I’m guessing she and Barry are working on getting you out of this mess?”

Taako feels like the curse has officially graduated to something more extreme than _mess_. _It was Barry’s curse. He’s working on it_.

Kravitz is working on it too, which reminds Taako. _Where’s my stone of farspeech? I had it in my hand._

“Stuff’s beside the couch, kid.” Merle pats his shoulder. “Try sitting up, nice and slow. Technically I know how to heal, but I’m a little rusty here. You want tea? I’ve got some homemade tea. Good for relaxation, if you know what I mean.”

Taako slowly, slowly sits up. The room spends a few second tilting unpleasantly, but everything settles into place after a minute. He gives Merle a suspicious look and writes another note. _I really don’t. Is it a sex thing? A weed thing?_

“It’s _chamomile_ ,” says Merle. “I’m making a pot. It’ll be good for your throat.”

Taako dunks on Merle a lot, but he likes him. He’s probably still alive right now because of him. _Thanks_.

“No problem. What was with the medal, by the way?” Merle gestures at Taako’s chest. “That thing left a mark.”

Taako reaches up to touch where Kravitz’s medal had been hanging under his sweater, only the medal isn’t there anymore and when he touches his chest he has to fight back a hiss of pain. It _hurts_ —a sharp, new pain to go along with the way the rest of his body is rebelling against him—and when he looks down, there’s a faint red circle on his skin.

Taako writes fast because if _he_ doesn’t have Kravitz’s family heirloom, it sure as hell better be close. _Where is it? It belongs to a friend._

“Some friend,” says Merle. “I put it in your bag because the blessing on that thing was choking you to death.” He leans back against his desk, crossing his arms over his chest. Merle’s office is small and overrun with greenery. Most of the time Taako likes it, even though his couch is dwarf-sized and way too small for Taako. Right now it feels a lot like he’s going to get an “I’m not mad, just disappointed” talk in it and he’d rather be anywhere else. Like lying in bed, maybe. Eating something cold for his sore throat. “You’re better than this, Taako. Curses don’t typically like being tricked. I’m sure it was effective at first, but a curse strong enough to drain your life force and your magic is strong enough to figure out ways around the barriers you put in its path.”

That probably means Silence won’t work forever too. Taako slumps back on the couch. _It was blessed by a goddess. Thought it would be stronger than that._

“When did you get a friend with ties to the Raven Queen, anyway?” Merle asks. “How did _that_ happen?”

Taako scowls at Merle. _Don’t worry about it, Merle._

“Hard not to be worried when you almost died in class today.”

Taako wants to accuse Merle of being dramatic, but he can’t—it’s true. Taako almost died. The curse almost killed him. The curse is _going_ to kill him if they don’t break it fast because that’s what the curse is supposed to do.

He feels bad for thinking it, but he should have kissed Kravitz. Maybe then this wouldn’t have happened.

There’s a knock on the door and then Lup pushes it open, stepping into the room and ignoring Merle as she strides over to pull Taako into a tight hug. “You _dingus_ ,” she says, “I can’t believe you almost died in a shitty university annex building.”

Taako wants to make a joke—say “thanks so much for your concern, Lup” and brush it off, but he can’t talk so he just clings to her, holding her just as tightly as she’s holding him. He closes his eyes, resting his head on her shoulder.

“Tea,” says Merle, eventually, breaking the moment. “I’ve got three cups. Are we gonna discuss what the gameplan is here? Because I don’t want to break in a new TA and if another one dies on my watch, I might not even get the chance.”

Lup laughs and lets go of Taako, sitting down beside him and reaching for one of the mugs Merle is holding out to them. “Thanks,” she says. “Barry’s on his way. He was stopping by the necromancy department first to enlist their help. We were… I think none of us were taking this seriously enough. I don’t think we realized how strong the spell was.”

Taako takes a sip of his tea, trying to wash the taste of copper from his mouth, and doesn’t mention the attack in the coffee shop. He knew how bad it was, but he didn’t want to worry Lup and Barry and maybe some part of him was still holding out hope that this would all just go away if he pretended it wasn’t a big deal.

Obviously: wrong move.

Merle’s got his disappointed face on again. “You thought it was one of those casual ancient Draconic curses?”

“Listen,” says Lup, “I didn’t say it was _smart_ not to worry. Just that we weren’t.”

The door opens again and this time Barry walks in, slightly out of breath, a worried expression on his face. “Sorry I’m late,” he says. “I’m here. I, uh, I took the curse to my department. I told them everything, Taako, sorry. I haven’t been able to find anything to help, but maybe if we’re _all_ looking into it—anyway, I might be on academic probation now? It’s unclear. They’re gonna talk it over, but they’re also enlisting all the grad students to help with your curse. I told Kravitz I was sorry for lying to him to begin with, but maybe _now_ he’ll have something more helpful for us.”

“Babe! Probation?” Lup says, setting her tea down and standing back up. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! It’s fine. I’m more worried about Taako than me,” says Barry. “Reversing the curse is more important. Everyone’s got a copy of the text now. They’re working on it.”

Taako ignores Barry lapsing into departmental politics about who specializes in what things and who might have insights he doesn’t, leaning over to grab his bag and his stone of farspeech because Kravitz _knows_ —Kravitz knows the terms of the curse and that _Taako_ knew them too. That Taako knew if he could get someone to like him, could get them to _kiss_ him, than the curse would be broken.

He has four missed messages from Kravitz.

_So you don’t want song recommendations? I could make you a fantasy mixtape._

_That was a joke I don’t actually know enough songs to make a mixtape. Maybe an EP._

_Taako?_

And, half an hour after the first three, the fourth, timestamped two minutes ago:

_Barry explained everything. You don’t have to._

Taako can practically hear the defeat in the words—Kravitz, assuming Taako was using him, bringing him brownies and flirting over texts to get Kravitz to break the curse. Taako can’t even blame Kravitz for thinking it because _Taako_ thought about it too—thought about it and then pushed the idea away because he likes Kravitz.

Which was dumb. He should have kissed him. Should have kissed him and then explained everything.

Taako’s sore and his throat is fucked and the tea hasn’t quite washed away the taste of blood in his mouth, but he needs to explain. To explain, and to give Kravitz his amulet back. He reaches for the sticky notes again, scrawling a note and holding it up so Barry can see it. _Where’s Kravitz?_

“He was leaving for work when I ran into him,” Barry says. “Why?”

Taako grabs his bag off the floor and gets to his feet. The world swims in and out of focus a little but, but it’s fine. Taako’s good. He’s good and he _really_ needs to talk to Kravitz now.

“T, what’s up?” Lup asks, suspicious. “Why are asking about Kravitz?”

“You probably shouldn’t move around too much, Taako,” Barry says. “Take it easy, bud.”

Taako rolls his eyes and ignores the warning. The room isn’t spinning anymore. He’s good. He opens up his chat with Barry and Lup. _I need to not-talk to Kravitz,_ he says. _It’s important. Also I have a family heirloom of his in my bag? I should deffo give that back._

“I can give it back to him,” Barry says, after a beat. “Taako, you’ve got blood all over your shirt. You should sit.”

Taako hasn’t noticed the blood. All over his shirt is a _bit_ of an exaggeration, but when he glances down at himself there is _some_ blood. Flecks from the coughing, he assumes. It’s fine. _Great, evidence I don’t have a lot of time to waste here. I’m a big boy. I don’t need your permission_.

“Sure,” says Barry, “but—”

“I’ll walk you there,” says Lup, cutting Barry off. She’s watching Taako closely. Taako’s pretty sure she’s jumped to the wrong conclusion about why Taako wanted to go see Kravitz—she’s probably expecting him to confess feelings, not to apologize for being a dick—but he’s not going to correct her.

 _Thanks_ , he texts. _Somebody respects my autonomy._

“I’m _worried_ about you, bud,” Barry says. “I know Lup’s worried too. I just—it’s my book, that I left lying around the apartment. This is on me too and if you—”

“He’s not gonna bite it, babe,” Lup says, firm and fast, reaching up to touch Barry’s cheek. “This is _Taako_ we’re talking about.”

Barry covers Lup’s hand with his own. “I know, but I don’t think curses care how stubborn someone is.” Barry chews on his bottom lip for a moment, then glances at Taako. “Can we at least convince you to see a healer first? No offense, Merle.”

“Sure, sure. Ignore me until you insult me. I see how it is,” Merle says, scoffing. “I cast Cure Wounds. He shouldn’t push it and definitely shouldn’t talk again any time soon, but he’s stable.”

Taako decides not to mention the way the world tilts if he moves too fast. _You can both bring me to the spook house_ , he says. _Come on, Barold. It’s you versus me and Lup. How do you think this is gonna go?_

Barry reads the message off Lup’s stone. “Okay, fair point,” he says, after a beat. “Can we at least call a fantasy Uber?”

#

They take an Uber. Taako is grateful. He leans against the window in the backseat, feeling like lukewarm garbage, his eyes closed, stomach lurching every time they hit a bump in the road. _That’s_ a fun new hell—nausea to go along with the other after effects of the curse. It’s like the spell is getting revenge on him for fighting back. If Merle was right, maybe it is.

Taako’s not ready to give in and let the curse be in charge here, but he’s willing to give up the amulet. It’s obviously not helping.

He texts Kravitz, on their way to the temple: _I know what this looks like, but it’s not that_. And: _If I come see you will you let me explain?_ And then: _That was a trick question because I’m headed over already_. And finally: _Sorry_.

He doesn’t get a response. Maybe Kravitz is busy. Maybe Kravitz is ignoring him. Maybe he blocked Taako’s number.

Taako’s trying not to think about breaking the curse with Kravitz. Kravitz is a whole ass person who doesn’t exist to be the solution to Taako’s problems. _Maybe_ he’ll get to kiss him and maybe it’ll break the spell. Maybe it won’t. Maybe Kravitz won’t even let him into the temple. Taako’s gonna respect whatever Kravitz decides on this one.

The Uber drops them at the gates of the graveyard. It’s still spooky as hell—it’s a graveyard—but some part of Taako finds it comforting too because he associates it with Kravitz now. Which is dumb. Sappy. Taako isn’t supposed to be a sap.

“Do you want us to come with you?” Lup asks, glancing at the long path between the gates and the temple in the middle of the cemetery. “As moral or literal support?”

Taako shakes his head. He’s coughing up blood and coins, but his legs are fine and his balance is mostly back. _I need to explain some stuff_ , he says. _You can wait for me here. He’s not gonna murder me. Or arrest me. Probably._

“I… shouldn’t go into the temple anyway,” Barry admits, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “I’m _definitely_ in the Raven Queen’s bad books right now.”

“Babe, we _really_ need to talk about your reading material soon, Lup says, snorting. She turns back to Taako. “Are you _sure_ I can’t walk you to the door?”

Taako nods, waving her off. _I’ll text when I’m leaving_ , he tells them. _I don’t think I’ll be long._

Taako leaves Lup and Barry at the gates and crosses the graveyard alone. It’s late afternoon and the sun is still hanging on, but it’s low enough in the sky to make every shadow long and foreboding. Honestly, Taako can’t think of a worse place than this to try and convince Kravitz to give him a chance, except that the last time he was here, sharing brownies and laughing at Kravitz’s organ playing, it hadn’t seemed this ominous. He’d thought it was kind of nice, actually.

Maybe the Raven Queen is pissed too. Taako _did_ kind of lead on her boy. Maybe it’s just Taako’s nerves getting to him.

The temple door is locked when Taako reaches it. He knocks on the door and steps back to wait, but there’s no sound of movement inside and the door stays firmly shut. Taako slips his stone out of his pocket and tries texting Kravitz one last time.

_Please let me explain? I’m outside. We can talk._

The message, as with Taako’s previous texts, goes unanswered and unread.

He’s about to give up when he hears a scrambling at the door and it clicks open with the rustling of feathers. Taako hesitates, then pushes it the rest of the way open. There’s a raven on the other side of it, sitting on the floor—Persephone again, he assumes. Taako can’t tell birds apart. It’s still creepy as hell that a bird can do that with doors, but Taako’s not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.

He’s trying his best not to look into it either. _Every_ raven can’t be a sign from the Raven Queen. She’s a goddess. She’s got things going on, probably—things other than watching over Kravitz’s love life.

Taako still nods his thanks to the raven, just in case, and pulls the door shut behind himself. The main chamber in the temple is empty except for the birds—no Kravitz and no clerics. If Kravitz is here, he’s somewhere deeper in the building and there’s only one place Taako knows for sure he likes to hang out. Giving up now, after a bird opened the door for him, after he dragged himself all the way down here from the university, is stupid. Taako takes a breath to steady himself—a mistake, because it sends a fun new wave of pain through his head—and then sets off down the hallway Kravitz showed him the last time he was here.

Taako expects to have trouble finding the organ room again. The door is hidden behind a curtain and every curtain in the long, tall hallway looks the same to him. His memory of the following Kravitz is mostly of how pleased Kravitz was to share the stupid organ with him. He doesn’t, though—something leads him straight to the right curtain and maybe it’s memory, but maybe it’s a sign too. Kravitz said the Raven Queen and fate were closely tied.

God, the atmosphere of the temple and the life-threatening curse must really be getting to him if he’s thinking about _fate_ right now. There’s no guarantee that finding the door means finding Kravitz.

Except he pushes the door open, his heart in his throat, and there Kravitz is, sitting on the organ bench, looking up from sheet music, surprised, when Taako walks into the room.

“Taako?” he says, frowning. “What are you doing here?” 

Taako shakes his head and pulls out his stone, holding it out pointedly. Kravitz doesn’t have his out and Taako has to explain. He needs to tell Kravitz he wasn’t using him.

Kravitz isn’t paying attention. “Barry showed me the translation of the curse,” he says, getting to his feet, his posture stiff. “I don’t know if you were just trying to make me—” He cuts himself off and takes a breath. “It’s fine. If you were trying to break the curse. We’ve only known each other for a little while and I don’t get along with your friend. I understand, but I’d… I’d really appreciate it if you’d leave, Taako.”

God, Kravitz is such a dork. Polite, even though he thinks Taako was trying to trick Kravitz into falling for him so he could break the spell. Trying to be understanding even though he thinks Taako did this _awful_ thing. Even though Taako hurt him. _Obviously_ hurt him, because if Kravitz was thinking straight he’d see the obvious holes in his logic here.

Kravitz isn’t getting his stone of farspeech out. Taako types out a message to him anyway, moving closer and holding his own stone out to make Kravitz look at it: _Krav, it’s not like that. Let me explain_.

“I’m sure you didn’t want to be cruel,” says Kravitz, stepping sideways, away from Taako, not listening to him at all, not willing to let him clear this whole fucking thing up. “I should be working right now anyway, though, and you’re obviously not a follower of the Raven Queen, not to mention you _did_ cast a powerful necromantic curse recently, even if it was on yourself, so you should—”

“Kravitz!” Taako doesn’t mean to say it, but it bursts out of him anyway—too loud, too forceful, bringing a cold hard lump in his throat and the taste of blood with it. Taako ignores the fresh flare of pain in his chest. “If I wanted to—” He cuts himself off, coughing and reaching up to pull a coin from his mouth, letting it fall to the floor and disappear. “—to kiss you. I could have. Here. The bench.” He’d wanted to. He’d wanted badly to lean in and brush their lips together because Kravitz is sweet and smart and funny and unfairly hot on top of all that. The entire fucking package, even with the weird death thing. Taako _likes_ the weird death thing, honestly. Kravitz is _interesting_. Taako loves interesting.

“Taako,” Kravitz says, stepping closer to him, finally really looking at him. “Taako, stop talking.”

Taako shakes his head, suppressing another cough, trying to swallow around the sensation of another coin forcing its way up his throat because his mouth is full of blood. He’s hit with a wave of nausea that nearly makes him puke, but if Kravitz won’t read his texts, he’s gotta get this out there somehow and apparently bleeding all over the temple is what it’s gonna fuckin’ take. “I didn’t—didn’t kiss you ‘cause it would—” Another coin, in his mouth, cutting him off. Taako spits it onto the floor. “—would be fucked—” He cuts himself up with another deep, aching coughing fit. The gold keeps coming up, faster now, more painful. There’s so much he wants to say to Kravitz—to explain—but the spell won’t let him.

Every inhale burns like he’s breathing smoke and ash. Gold scrapes against his already raw throat and it _hurts_ —hurts worse than passing out in the classroom or his coughing fit in the coffeeshop. There are fewer coins with the gold pieces, but they take more out of him, make his exhales wet and rattling in a way that _can’t_ be good. 

Kravitz grabs his shoulder, holding on to him as he sways in place. “ _Stop_ , Taako. Please. I’ll get my stone.” His voice is low and panicked.

Taako shakes his head. It’s been so long since he spoke that now it’s hard to stop. His voice sounds foreign to his own ears, far away. He’s unsteady on his feet and the world is swimming around him again. It’s hard to focus on anything. “I didn’t want—I didn’t—”

This time, when Taako’s legs give out on him, Kravitz is the one who catches him. Taako knows that because he has a brief, peaceful moment of clarity sagging forward into Kravitz’s arms, probably getting blood all over his clothes, and he’s still trying to talk, still trying to make Kravitz _listen_ to him, since Kravitz wouldnt answer his fucking stone. 

Taako retches around a mouthful of gold and clings to Kravitz’s shirt. “I like—like you,” he says, his voice a rough half-whisper because his throat is wrecked, vocal chords a mess.

He doesn’t know what else to say, how else to explain to Kravitz that Taako never wanted to use him, that he _likes_ him, and he’s dizzier than he’s ever been, the world and Kravitz spinning around him, his body heavy like maybe his insides are full of gold now, maybe the spell gave up on pushing it out through his mouth and just let it fill his lungs, maybe this is how everything ends—drowning in gold because he was greedy and stupid and didn’t want to tell Kravitz the truth.

He has time to think _oh well, I tried_ , and then Kravitz’s mouth is on his, urgent and hot, and Taako is gasping into it—gasping because it feels like Kravitz poured cold water down his throat and into his lungs and maybe he’s drowning in ice now, not gold. It stings almost as bad as the curse, but the shock of it fades fast, leaving Taako panting against Kravitz’s lips, scared and still hurting, but… not as much. Not like he’s dying.

Kravitz pulls back, but not far. One of his arms is wrapped around Taako’s waist, the other is cupping Taako’s cheek in his palm. “Taako?”

Taako blinks at Kravitz, trying to process his sudden ability to _breathe_ again. The closeness of their faces. The flecks of gold in Kravitz’s brown eyes. “You kissed me,” he says, unthinking, and then stiffens in Kravitz’s grasp because it doesn’t hurt—no pain, no blood, no coins, just Taako’s voice, battered and croaky. “You broke the curse.”

“I _had_ to break the curse,” Kravitz says, still clutching at him. “Taako, what were you _thinking?_ You could have died. You already almost died once today. It’s—” He cuts himself off. “You should lay down. We should get a healer.”

“No,” says Taako, tightening his hold on Kravitz’s shirt. He’s still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Kravitz _kissed him_ and _broke the curse_ , so no. He’s not moving. “No, Taako’s good right here. I had to explain. You weren’t listening to me. You didn’t read my messages.”

“I was upset.” Kravitz moves his hand from Taako’s cheek, studying him closely. “I thought—it really wasn’t because of the spell?”

Taako shakes his head. “No, I’m an asshole, but not _that_ kind of asshole,” he says. “I was gonna wait until the curse was gone to kiss you, but now…” He shrugs, still pressed up against Kravitz. “You solved that issue.” Which means Kravitz likes him. _Really_ likes him. Taako knows he can’t let Kravitz hold him up forever, but he really doesn’t feel like moving now. “You _kissed_ me,” he says, because it bears repeating. “Did Silence not work? The amulet backfired. Merle said the curse didn’t like being messed with.”

Kravitz looks blank for a moment, then sheepish. “I… didn’t try,” he says. “I forgot. You wouldn’t stop talking and I panicked and I—I just… kissed you.”

Taako can’t help the laugh that burst out of him—doesn’t _have_ to help it or try to smother it or hope that Kravitz will Silence it. He can just… do it. His throat is still sore and his mouth still tastes like blood with a faint aftertaste of ozone—the distinctive sign of big magic—but he’s curse-free. Lighter than air.

“Just kissed me,” he says, smiling at Kravitz and his lovely, handsome face. “Who could blame you? Give me a minute to rinse my mouth out and you could do it again, thug. If… you know, if you want to.”

Kravitz leans in and presses their lips together, much more gently this time. It’s soft and sweet and almost tentative. Taako melts into the kiss, winding his arms around Kravitz’s neck and steering it deeper. Taako’s blood is singing in his veins—where it _belongs_ —and he’s light headed from how nice it feels to have Kravitz in his arms, knowing that Kravitz cares about him, that Kravitz believes Taako when he says this thing between them is real.

The lightheadedness might also be from the blood loss. The curse is broken, but Taako doesn’t know if breaking the curse means healing the damage it did entirely. Probably not. Probably Kravitz is right and he should lie down.

Maybe Kravitz would like to lie down with him somewhere.

Kravitz makes a low, pleased noise against Taako’s mouth, and Taako’s about to suggest lying down after all, maybe make a vampire joke or two, because he wants to make Kravitz laugh again, but he’s stopped by the sound of his stone of farspeech buzzing on the floor.

Taako doesn’t remember dropping it, but he was busy dying so he figures that’s fine. He breaks the kiss to look down at his stone, which is flashing a new message notification from Lup. “Shit,” he says, glancing back up at Kravitz. “Okay. Hold that thought. I should let my sister and Barold know I’m alive and then _we_ should get back to this. For sure. Maybe also sit? Cha’boy is cured but, uh, maybe not at one hundo percent yet.”

“It’s okay,” Kravitz says, loosening his grip on Taako so he can retrieve the stone from the floor for him. He hands it over, pressing a kiss to Taako’s forehead, so maybe Taako’s not the only sappy one here. “Call them so they can hear you talk. Kissing can wait. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

Kravitz smiles at him, his eyes crinkling at the corners with affection. Taako finds himself smiling back reflexively. He could get used to being looked like that. He’s _gonna_ get used to it. He’s gonna make Kravitz and Barry reach a truce and show Kravitz their bad apartment so he understands why Taako had to try casting the curse and see how good Kravitz really is at telling him and Lup apart. Taako’s got all _sorts_ of plans, now, for things he wants to do with Kravitz.

For now, he settles for leaning in to steal one last kiss before he unlocks his stone and dial’s Lup’s number. “Hey,” he says, when Lup picks up, before she can say anything, “so guess who kissed a hot boy? I’ll give you a hint—it’s Kravitz.”

Kravitz laughs, leaning into Taako’s personal space again, just staying close as Lup exclaims in his ear about the curse being broken. Taako, looking at Kravitz, just grins and lets her talk. He’s gonna need medical attention sooner rather than later, but for now he feels light, and the world is good again, and he would really like to experience true love’s kiss some more.


	2. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! An epilogue as a thank you for the very kind response to the main part of this story.

It’s a sign of how effective and awful the curse was, Taako thinks, two days after Kravitz broke the spell that almost killed him, that he’s taking every opportunity to call instead of text. Standing in his kitchen, stone of farspeech in one hand and a spatula in the other, he waits for Kravitz to answer his stone.

“Taako?” Kravitz’s voice, when he finally does pick up, is tinged with a fondness Taako would find embarrassing if it didn’t delight him that Kravitz likes him, like, _a lot_. True love’s kiss is a hell of a drug. “Everything all right? I’m on my way over.”

“S’all good,” Taako says, grinning to himself. His voice still sounds like hot garbage—his throat is healing, but the cleric at the hospital hadn’t wanted to rush it and risk scarring—and technically he’s supposed to be resting it, but Taako’s _done_ with resting his vocal chords, thank you very much. He did plenty of that under the curse. “Just wanted to hear your voice. And also see if you could grab some strawberries or something on your way over? Cha’boy is making pancakes, but _somebody_ ate the blueberries I was saving to make compote out of, which is _wild_ on Barold’s part because who the fuck just eats frozen berries? But anyway, need a replacement fruit. So—strawberries?”

Technically Taako could just transmute them, but then he wouldn’t have had a reason to call.

“I’ll stop by the store on the way there and see what they have,” Kravitz says. “Didn’t want to text?”

“You’re bad over text,” Taako says, flipping the pancake in his skillet. He’s glad Lup isn’t around to see the dopey expression on his face and make fun of him. She and Barry should be on their way home for brunch too, following Barry’s probation meeting. “Have that from a reliable source.”

“You’re supposed to be resting your throat,” says Kravitz, but there’s no real admonishment in it. He sounds happy to be talking to Taako too.

“Yeah, well, what can I say, handsome? I’m a rebel.” Taako is a smitten dork is what he is. “I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon.” Kravitz hangs up and Taako sets his stone down and turns his full attention to the pancakes. He’s not sure whether this will be a “congratulations about not getting kicked out” or a “sorry about your career” brunch, but he’s hoping for the former. Even Kravitz, in a gesture of reconciliation, had told Barry he hoped things went well. He probably even meant it. Kravitz is nice and almost terrifyingly sincere in a way Taako isn’t yet used to.

He’s looking forward to getting used to it though.

By the time Kravitz makes it to the apartment—beating Lup and Barry, which is ominous—the pancakes are done and the syrup is warmed and the whipped cream is whipped. All they need is the guest of honour.

Taako opens the door and greets Kravitz with a kiss, reaching down to take the paper basket of strawberries in his hand from him. “Hi,” he says, smiling. “I have stuff for mimosas, but if it turns out Barry’s getting kicked out of college, I think we’ll sub the sparkling wine for vodka.”

“Hi,” says Kravitz, leaning in to steal another brief kiss from him. “I’m sure he’ll be all right. You don’t have to worry.”

“Who said I was worried?” Taako _is_ , but Kravitz doesn’t have to call him out on it. He grabs Kravitz’s hand and leads him into his tiny, shitty apartment. “Barold will be fine. This is how his cult starts, I bet. Kicked out of school, turning to dark magic… Speaking of, while we’re waiting can I give you the tour? You gotta see the place to truly understand why I thought barfing gold was good financial planning.”

Kravitz nods, allowing himself to be pulled along. “Of course. I’d love to see your apartment, Taako.”

“Cool,” says Taako, setting the strawberries down on the counter and gesturing around at the small combination living room/kitchen situation they’re standing in. “So this is the apartment. I share with Barry _and_ Lup. It’s too small and you need to use a wrench to turn on the hot water in the bathtub because the handle broke off and our friend Magnus said he could fix it, but turns out being a carpenter doesn’t make you good at plumbing. Technically Barry’s not supposed to be living here, so we don’t want to get our landlord to fix it.” He pauses. “One time I saw a mouse in the basement laundry room and it looked at me and I looked at it and my soul left my body so, you know. That’s _twice_ this apartment has forced me to commit acts of necromancy.”

Kravitz laughs, giving Taako’s hand a squeeze. It’s definitely worth the sore throat he’s going to have today. “I don’t think that counts as necromancy, Taako,” he says. “A lot of people have that reaction when they see mice in their home.”

“I do _not_ live in the creepy basement laundry room,” Taako says, voice firm. “That is a separate plane of existence and we’re gonna pretend it’s not attached to the apartment because I don’t wanna think about it. Come on, Bones—let me show you the _good_ stuff.” He waggles his eyebrows at Kravitz, tugging him towards the closed door of Taako’s bedroom. “Where the magic happens.”

“I really hope you aren’t about to show me the bathroom,” says Kravitz.

Taako laughs, which turns into a dry cough that makes him wince because _shit_ —maybe he needs to listen to the healers.

“Taako?” Kravitz lets go of his hand to touch the small of his back, rubbing circles on it. The mirth is gone from his voice now, replaced with concern. “Taako, are you okay?”

“Fine—I’m fine!” Taako looks up at Kravitz, trying to hold back his coughing. “It’s not—it’s just left over. Not supposed to talk this much. Stupid curse.”

Kravitz reaches up to cup Taako’s face in his hand. “As much as I love hearing your voice, why don’t you rest until Lup and Barry get here?” he asks, brow creased with worry. “I’ll stop talking in solidarity, if you want. We can text.”

Taako _should_ rest his voice, but he doesn’t want to just sit in a room and text Kravitz. There are other things they can do that don’t require talking. “I’m sure we can find _something_ to do with my mouth,” he says, turning his head to kiss Kravitz’s palm, looking up at him from under half-lidded eyes. He thoroughly enjoys the way Kravitz’s breath hitches, the way his eyes drift down to Taako’s lips. They haven’t gotten any alone time since breaking the curse. Lup and Barry being out suddenly seems very convenient excuse. “I mean, I’m open to suggestions.”

Kravitz leans in and kisses him, long and sweet, and Taako melts into it, feeling pleased with himself because kissing Kravitz? _Much_ better than texting him. He winds his arms around Kravitz’s neck and deepens the kiss, takes it from sweet to demanding. Taako’s not planning on doing anything, not with Lup and Barry on their way both home, but it’s fun to just _have_ this—to have Kravitz groaning into his mouth, clutching him closer.

The hand on Taako’s back drifts down to his ass and Taako makes a soft sound of approval, dragging his teeth gently over Kravitz’s bottom lip as a reward because it feels _good_ to be wanted the way Kravitz wants him. Taako hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Kravitz since the first kiss. Something about a kiss so good it _literally_ saved his life has him wanting more—as much as Kravitz will give him.

Kravitz is apparently willing to give him a _lot_.

So much that Taako misses the sound of the front door opening.

“Gross!” Taako jumps when he hears Lup’s voice, biting the inside of his own cheek. “It’s, like, _noon!_ Why are you grinding in the kitchen?”

Taako pulls back to give Lup and Barry, standing in the doorway, a dirty look. “You took too long to get here,” he says. His voice is scraped to hell, but Lup didn’t walk in on him and Kravitz _talking_ so it’s fine. “Had to keep busy somehow and I’m not supposed to talk.”

“And yet, you won’t stop.” Lup walks to the kitchen table, setting down a tray with four to-go cups from The Davy Lamp in it. “We have coffee and good news—Barry’s not getting kicked out of school.”

“Not yet anyway,” Barry says, grinning. “They’re making me do some community service though. And take a magical ethics course? The general consensus is that it was an accident and not malicious.”

“So they just think you’re stupid,” Taako says, staying right where he is in the circle of Kravitz’s arms. “That’s great. What are you doing? Trash duty? Tutoring undergrads?”

“Well,” Barry says, “they, uh, they felt that since… apparently I was comfortable at the cemetery, around the Raven Queen’s temple, that might be a good space for me.” He pauses, glancing at Kravitz. “I’m, uh, supposed to start community service tomorrow.”

Taako can’t think of a worse fit for Barry than in a temple to the Raven Queen. He wonders if the university found out about Taako and Kravitz. Probably. 

“Well,” he says, patting Kravitz’s chest to get him to let go of his ass, “if you two are gonna be coworkers, we gotta work on making you get along, huh? Let’s start with brunch. Barold, pop the champagne—you and Krav are both gonna need a drink.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment and kudos if you enjoyed! 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr [@marywhal](http://marywhal.tumblr.com), come say hello! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment and kudos if you enjoyed this fic! I had a lot of fun writing it.
> 
> Thank you to anonymousAlchemist for reading this fic and telling me all the places where I needed to make it longer. <3 You can find me on tumblr [@marywhal](http://marywhal.tumblr.com), come say hello!


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